Wonky (music)

Wonky (English translated loosely about ) is a style or a trend in the electronic music that originated around 2008 in the grime and dubstep scene and in the following years, particularly in the UK and the USA became popular.

Wonky is based on a composition-and performance art in the synthesizer riffs with complex, irregular rhythm in the middle pitches shape the music and create a chaotic atmosphere. Unlike many other styles of Wonky is not limited to a typical drum beat or a specific tempo in beats per minute, so that both slow, hip-hop -like and faster dubstep beats are used.

Alternative names are Aquacrunk, which is used mainly for the Scottish version of the style, as well as glitch - hop and street bass for the North American version.

Conceptual history

The word Wonky as a name for the style was introduced by the music journalist Martin Clark in a column in the online magazine Pitchfork Media 2008, however, first conceived the trend is not as musical style, but as a motive or trend within the Dubstep and Grime scene. Wonky, which is used in England as a synonym for ketamine is controversial as a style designation and is rejected by some musicians. Among the most vocal proponents of the concept, however, belongs to the English music critic and blogger Alex Williams, who defended the title in several articles, but it emphasized that it was less about a style of music as a cross-genre, mutating stylistic devices (trans -generic mutational agent ) that could be construed as in several styles existing process he called Wonkification.

In the music scene, the naming is inconsistent. Thus, the Sónar Festival and both Wonky Aquacrunk be called as a term for the music of Hudson Mohawke, Rustie and Flying Lotus on the website.

Description

Adam Harper described in 2009 following basic characteristics which songs are classified in the genre Wonky: Synthesizers with simple waveforms as sound material riffs in the middle pitch range, sliding pitches and pitch bend effects relationship with hip- hop and dubstep, using 8 -bit sounds, not quantized or unconventional, complex rhythms and pitch settings (pitch), arpeggiator textures as well as allusions to certain clubs and labels in texts and titles.

Foundation of Wonky forms of a drum machine or samples played drums rhythm which is based mostly in the broadest sense to radio or breakbeats. Sometimes encountered are rapped vocals, but most of the tracks are purely instrumental.

However, the main feature of the Wonky are the fast, chaotic action, often polyrhythmic synth riffs that generate a psychedelic atmosphere. Frequently duplets and triplets are compared with each other in rhythm, and usually lacks the typical for modern electronically produced music quantization, the riffs are therefore not subsequently be amended after importing to a solid rhythmic grid. The bass enters into the meaning behind the riffs in the middle pitches which are superimposed several times and thus form dense polyphonic textures. The sounds, typically simple waveforms such as sine or sawtooth were influenced by early electro and the so-called chiptune, in which is used as starting material sounds from 8- bit sound processors, as it is typical for video game machines and consoles of the 1970s and 1980s.

In the harmonic dissonance and atonal passages are often noisy Harper found.

Sub-genres

A distinction is usually between the sound from Scotland and England on the one hand, called for a proposal of the pioneer Rustie as Aquacrunk and the North American sound on the other.

Aquacrunk

As Aquacrunk the Wonky from the UK and in particular the city of Glasgow is called. The term was introduced from producer Rustie, the main representative of style and is derived from Crunk, one originating from the southern United States sub-genre of hip-hop, whose rhythm often forms the basis for the Aquacrunk tracks, as well as from the fact that the sounds and beats used act as drowned in the water as the music magazine Spinner wrote. Besides Glasgow Bristol is another center of Aquacrunk scene. Representatives of Aquacrunk besides Hudson Mohawke Rustie, Ikonika, Zomby, Darkstar and Joker.

U.S. Wonky / Bass Street

The American variant of Wonky originated in the U.S. Grime-/Dubstep-Szene. It was proposed for the sound of the term Street bass that comes from the musicians collective Seclusiasis, which publishes a compilation series called Street Bass Anthems. Main representatives of the American Wonky are Flying Lotus and Starkey, the Seclusiasis belongs. As a contrast to the British scene Starkey stated in an interview that the American sound is " eclectic " and refers also to the UK garage scene foreign styles such as electro, Baltimore club with a.